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SWARCO Raiders miss Eurobowl final

Oakland’s sister-team lost 18-10 to the Berlin Adler.

QB John van den Raadt ran for 146 yards and a TD(Photo: Schellhorn)

The SWARCO Raiders will not play in this year’s Eurobowl. The sister-team of The Oakland Raiders missed the final of the BIG6 European Football League, losing 18-10 (3-3; 0-0; 8-7; 7-0) to the Berlin Adler.

It was the SWARCO Raiders second loss in three games against the Germans. They also lost in the 2010 European Football League semifinals.

QB John van den Raadt ran 9 times for 146 yards with a touchdown and a fumble. He also completed 15 of 32 passes for 157 yards. WR Kyle Callahan caught 7 balls for 112 yards. RB Andreas Hofbauer carried the ball 14 times for 55 yards. DB Alexander Achammer caught an interception.

„To put it on point, we were just not good enough today. We fought hard, but that was not enough”, said SWARCO Raiders Tirol head coach Shuan Fatah. “We have to give Berlin credit. They played very well today. We just had too many missed opportunities, which in the end cost us dearly“.

Berlin won the coin toss and elected to receive. WR/K Clemens Erlsbacher kicked off the game and RB/DB Talib Wise returned the ball to midfield. But after a three and out the Adler had to punt. They downed the ball at the Tyrolean 1. After a short run by RB/DB D.J. Wolfe Erlsbacher caught an 8-yard pass. Later van den Raadt ran 43 yards. Two short completions to Callahan gave the home-site a first down at the Berlin 29. Then Hofbauer ran for 18 yards. But the drive ended with a 21-yard field goal by Erlsbacher. With 5:54 minutes left in the first the SWARCO Raiders were up 3-0.

The following kickoff resulted in a touchback. On their first two plays from scrimmage Berlin was moving backwards. But on third down QB Darius Outlaw found WR Glenn MacKay for 63 yards. Moments later Berlin tied the game at 3-3 on a 22-yard field goal by K Brian Amarel with 3:12 minutes left in the first.

During the next minutes both offenses had a hard time moving the chains. After the Tyroleans had to punt on their second straight drive Berlin took over at midfield. On the first play from scrimmage Outlaw found MacKay at the 17. Three plays later Amarel missed a 41-yard field goal try.

The Tyroleans took over at their 23. Hofbauer opened the drive with a 6-yard run. Next WR Christian Willi caught an 8-yard pass. Then van den Raadt ran to the 43. Penalties moved the ball to the 48. Van den Raadt then found Callahan with a 12-yard pass and Erlsbacher with an 11-yard completion. Just when the offense got going, penalties and bad execution moved the ball backwards. In the end the Tyroleans had to punt once again.

Berlin started at their 29, but went three and out. After a short Erlsbacher return the SWARCO Raiders took over at their 25. Hofbauer ran to the 46 on second down. Then van den Raadt rushed for 18 yards. Next up he scrambled to the opposing 25. The drive didn’t result in any points as a bad snap on a field goal try cost the Tyroleans a chance to take the lead again.

The third quarter started with a kickoff return by Erlsbacher to the SWARCO Raiders 23. On third down van den Raadt found Callahan for 38 yards. A few plays later Callahan caught a 31-yarder. Van den Raadt finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. Erlsbacher’s PAT gave the Tyroleans a 10-3 lead with 8:47 minutes left in the third.

After another touchback on an Erlsbacher kickoff Berlin started at its 25. Outlaw ran for 5 yards on first down. A pass to MacKay and a penalty gave the Adler a fresh set of downs at their own 45. Then WR Conrad Meadows caught a pass at the opposing 14. RB Björn Dreier then ran 8 yards. Next up he caught a 13-yarder. On third down and 10 yards to go Outlaw found MacKay for 15 yards. The drive ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Outlaw to MacKay. After a bad snap Berlin was not able to kick the PAT, leaving the SWARCO Raiders with a slim 10-9 lead with 3:24 minutes left in the third.

Wise returned the kickoff to the 10. The offense moved backwards and had to punt after three plays. The snap went high and out of bounds, resulting in a safety for Berlin. With 2:20 minutes left in the third the Adler were up 11-10.

The free kick resulted in a touchback. Starting at their 25 a pass from Outlaw to WR Danilo Naranjo-Gonzales gave the Adler a first down at their 43. But a few plays later the Tyrolean defense stopped Berlin on fourth down and took over at their 48. The offense couldn’t move the ball though and had to punt. Berlin started at its 20. Outlaw ran to the 36. Next up the Adler tried a trick play, but Wise’s pass was picked off by Achammer and returned to the opposing 46.

Hofbauer opened the drive with a 9-yard run. A pass from van den Raadt to WR Adrian Platzgummer was good for 14 yards. A penalty against Berlin gave the Tyroleans a first down at the Berlin 20. Once again the offense couldn’t find the endzone and settled for a field goal try. But the 37-yard kick was blocked.

Taking over at their 20 Berlin Berlin moved the chains with a long pass to MacKay. A holding penalty took some of the yardage away, but still Berlin had a first down at the opposing 45. A few plays later Wise ran 31 yards for the touchdown. The PAT gave Berlin an 18-10 lead with 2:19 minutes left in the fourth.

A penalty on the ensuing kickoff gave the Tyroleans the ball back at their own 12. On first down van den Raadt was sacked. Then he ran for 5 yards. On third down he escaped pressure once again, running for 33 yards. On the next play he was called for face-mask. And on the very next play he was stripped of the ball while trying to escape the pressure. Berlin recovered the fumble.

On Saturday, June 21 the SWARCO Raiders host the Graz Giants in their last home game of the Austrian Football League (AFL) regular season. Kickoff at Innsbruck’s Tivoli Stadium is at 8:00 a.m. PT (5:00 p.m. CET).

Watch the SWARCO Raiders 2014 season live and as-live for free on www.raidersTV.at.